And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, as far as Dan; and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the western sea; and the South, and the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the Lord said to [{273}] him, "This is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, 'I will give it unto thy family': I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-pear: but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.
And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended.
And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face; in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land; and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.
| THE BURIAL OF MOSES |
By Nebo's lonely mountain, On this side Jordan's wave, In a vale in the land of Moab, There lies a lonely grave. And no man knows that sepulcher, And no man saw it e'er, For the angels of God upturned the sod, And laid the dead man there. That was the grandest funeral That ever passed on earth; But no man heard the trampling, Or saw the train go forth: Noiselessly as the daylight Comes back when night is done, And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek Grows into the great sun; Noiselessly as the spring-time Her crown of verdure weaves, And all the trees on all the hills Open their thousand leaves; So without sound of music Or voice of them that wept, Silently down from the mountain's crown The great procession swept. Perchance that bald old eagle On gray Beth-Peor's height, Out of his lonely eyrie Looked on the wondrous sight: [{275}] Perchance the lion, stalking, Stills shuns that hallowed spot, For beast and bird have seen and heard That which man knoweth not. But when the warrior dieth, His comrades in the war, With arms reversed and muffled drum, Follow his funeral car; They show the banners taken, They tell his battles won, And after him lead his masterless steed, While peals the minute-gun. Amid the noblest of the land We lay the sage to rest, And give the bard an honored place. With costly marble drest, In the great minster transept Where lights like glories fall, And the organ rings and the sweet choir sings Along the emblazoned wall. This was the truest warrior That ever buckled sword, This the most gifted poet That ever breathed a word; And never earth's philosopher Traced with his golden pen, On the deathless page, truths half so sage As he wrote down for men. And had he not 'nigh honor,-- The hillside for a pall, To lie in state while angels wait, With stars for tapers tall, [{276}] And the dark rock-pines like tossing plumes Over his bier to wave, And God's own hand, in that lonely land, To lay him in the grave? In that strange grave without a name, Whence his uncoffined clay Shall break again, O wondrous thought! Before the judgment day, And stand with glory wrapt around On the hills he never trod, And speak of the strife that won our life With the Incarnate Son of God. O, lonely grave in Moab's land! O, dark Beth-Peor's hill! Speak to these curious hearts of ours, And teach them to be still. God hath his mysteries of grace, Ways that we cannot tell; He hides them deep, like the hidden sleep Of him he loved so well. |
| --Cecil Frances Alexander. |
JOSHUA
The Story of the Hero Whose Genius as a Warrior Won the Land of Canaan for Israel.
(The Israelites found the land of Canaan occupied by a fierce and warlike people with whom they fought many battles and waged long campaigns. The story of this warfare is filled with deeds of cruelty and violence, yet it is no more terrible than war has always been. We cannot understand why God has permitted so much suffering, but we know that in some cases at least the world has advanced in freedom through the loss and sacrifice of war. Even in war men have grown less cruel, and we may hope for the time when all war shall cease and men shall live together as brethren.)